Yamato
Various Japanese companies have the name Yamato (大和), which is another name for Japan. Yamato Kōki Seisakusho The April 1943 government inquiry listing Japanese camera production mentions a company called Yamato Kōki Seisakusho and based in Tokyo, Azuma. Its address in 1943 was Tōkyō-to Mukōjima-ku Azuma-chō 8–1663 (東京都向島区吾嬬8–1663). Source: . It was the maker of the Yamato Rapid shutter (B, 1–500) mounted on the Semi Gelto and Baby Leotax and of the Lead Rapid shutter (T, B, 1–500) mounted on the Semi Lead. It is not known if this was the same company as the postwar Yamato Kōki Kōgyō. Yamato Kōki Kōgyō Yamato Kōki Kōgyō K.K. (大和光機工業 ) was a Japanese camera maker. The origin of this Yamato company is unclear. It is known that the company was already active in 1952. Advertisement dated July 1952 reproduced in , p.198. The first cameras made for sure by Yamato were the Minon 35, Pax 35 and Minon Six. Their roots can be traced back to two different companies. On the one hand, the Minon 35 and Pax 35 were respectively developed from the Dan 35 III and Super Dan 35. Many sources say that all the Dan 35 models distributed by Hagimoto from 1948 to 1950 were already made by Yamato, but this is unclear (see Dan 35 I and II). Another possibility would be that Yamato took over the production of the Dan models after the failure of Hagimoto in 1950. On the other hand, the Minon Six was an evolution of the Poppy Six by Shin Nippon Kōgyō, itself a derivative of the Gotex released around 1941 by Kigawa. The original Minon Six and early Minon Six II have SNK logos and were surely made by Shin Nippon Kōgyō, and the late Minon Six II and III were advertised as made by Yamato. It is not known if the production was transferred from Shin Nippon Kōgyō to Yamato Kōki Kōgyō, or if the latter was a renaming of the former. Yamato continued to develop the Pax line into the early 1960s. It presented the Artronic F Zoom and Artronic L prototypes at the Photokina in 1963, the first cameras in the world to have an electronic shutter. , p.375. The company was probably not financially strong enough to manufacture them, and all trace of it is lost after that date. Another company called Yamato Kōki Kōgyō K.K. is known to exist today (2008), and currently makes microtomes (medical research instruments). It was founded in 1926 as Kikuchi Seisakusho (菊池製作所) by Kikuchi Rikichi, and took its present name in 1944. Official chronology of the current Yamato Kōki Kōgyō. The history page on its website does not mention cameras, and its address from 1952 to 1984 was in Tokyo, Shinjuku, not the same as the address of the camera maker. Official chronology of the current Yamato Kōki Kōgyō. The exact address was Tōkyō-to Shinjuku-ku Hyakunin-chō 1–10–8 (東京都新宿区百人町1–10–8). It is thus probable that the two companies were not related. Bolta film cameras * Minon 35 The Dan 35 cameras are attributed by some sources to Yamato Kōki Kōgyō, but this is unclear. The development of the Dan 35 was supervised by Hagimoto. 35mm viewfinder cameras * Atlas 35 * Atlas 35 II * Simflex 35 * Pax Jr a.k.a. Pal Jr, Hilka or Tower 55B * Palmat Automatic 35mm rangefinder cameras * Pax * Pax M2 * Pax M3 * Pax M4 aka Pal M4 * Rex aka Ricsor 6×6 folders * Minon Six II / III * Wagen Six The attribution of the Bonny Six to Yamato is a mistake. Yamato Shōkai K.K. Yamato Shōkai ( 大和商会) was a Japanese distributor based in Tokyo, mentioned as the authorized dealer of the Flora Six in 1953. Advertisement reproduced in , p.177. Notes Bibliography * * Links General links In English: * Yamato page in the Pacific Rim Photographica Pages In Japanese: * Chronology at the current Yamato website Miscellaneous In English: * Boltax, Dan and Minon 35 cameras at submin.com * Post about the Dan 35 at the Camera Collector forum In Japanese: * Pal Junior at Bon's Homepage Category: Japanese camera makers Category: Japanese shutter makers